Published Feb. 16, 2016 at 09:22AM / Updated January 17, 2019 at 02:03PM

About The Observer

The Observer, established in 1896, is proud to be Union and Wallowa counties' news leader. The newspaper, with over 13,000 readers in those two counties, is published Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoon. The Observer is part of the Western Communications Inc. family of newspapers.

The newspaper's office and printing plant is in La Grande, county seat of Union County and home to Eastern Oregon University.

The Observer is recognized as the dominant news and advertising source for Northeast Oregon and has received numerous news, advertising and printing awards in recent years. The newspaper is committed to providing comprehensive news, sports and advertising coverage of the two-county area.

The newspaper maintains a six-unit Goss Community press and serves as the central press facility for Western Communications' Northeast Oregon newspapers. The Observer has a well-deserved reputation for outstanding print quality, graphics and color reproduction and currently prints two multi-weekly, two weekly and two bi-monthly newspapers.

The Observer is proud of its commitment to and participation in its community. Over 100 local events, fundraisers, nonprofits and service clubs receive donations from the newspaper. Some of the sponsorships, support and memberships include: United Way of Union County; Wallowa County Fair; Union County Fair; Union County 4-H Leaders; Eastern Oregon University Foundation; Fishtrap Writer's Workshop; Relay for Life; Union County Chamber of Commerce; Wallowa County Chamber of Commerce and Union County Economic Development Corporation. The Observer also supports various high school booster clubs and school activities in Union and Wallowa counties.

The Observer is owned by Western Communications, Inc., a family-owned company based in Bend, Oregon. In addition to La Grande and Bend, the company owns newspapers in Baker City, Brookings, and Redmond, Oregon. WesCom also publishes newspapers in Crescent City and Sonora, California.